Margaret Shelton (likely died before 1555) was the sister of
Mary Shelton
Mary Shelton (1510-1515 – 1570/71) was one of the contributors to the Devonshire manuscript. Either she or her sister Madge Shelton may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII.
Family
Both Margaret and Mary were daughters of Sir John Shel ...
, and was once thought to be a
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
of
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.
Family
Both Margaret and Mary were daughters of
Sir John Shelton
Sir John Shelton (1476/7 – 1539) of Shelton in Norfolk, England, was a courtier to King Henry VIII. Through his marriage to Anne Boleyn, a sister and co-heiress of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire of Blickling Hall in Norfolk, he became ...
and his wife
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, the sister of
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Thomas Bolina, Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford KG KB (c. 1477 – 12 March 1539), of Hever Castle in Kent, was an English diplomat and politician who was the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry V ...
, the father of
King Henry VIII's second Queen consort,
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
. Margaret and Mary were thus first cousins of the Queen. Margaret was the youngest of Sir John Shelton's daughters. She was an attendant of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn, and was present when she made her first appearance as queen on Easter Eve, 12 April 1533.
King's mistress
One of the Shelton sisters is believed to have been King Henry's mistress for a six-month period beginning in February 1535, according to statements about mistresses made by the Imperial ambassador,
Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys (; c. 1490/92 – 21 January 1556), the son of Louis Chapuys and Guigonne Dupuys, was a Savoyard diplomat who served Charles V as Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detaile ...
, who referred to ''Mistress Shelton''.
According to biographer Antonia Fraser, this was Margaret Shelton. Chapuys was always at court when in England, more frequently so than most contemporaneous writers.
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...
identified Madge Shelton as the woman attendant on Anne when she miscarried within hours of Queen Katherine of Aragon's death. Madge was the "concubine's" closest companion in waiting owing to her familial ties, yet would be dismissed at the end.
[Spanish Calendar of Letters, Despatches and State Papers relating to Negotiations between England and Spain; Weir, p.15]
However, more recent research has suggested that it was Margaret's sister Mary who was Henry's mistress, and was rumoured to have been selected to become his fourth wife. Supposedly, the confusion of earlier historians arose from the label "Marg Shelton", in which the "y" resembled a "g", a common confusion in sixteenth-century writing.
Other relationships
Once arrested,
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
was attended by four unsympathetic ladies, who had been instructed by the King's chief minister
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
to report on the Queen's actions. Anne told one of these ladies, Mrs Coffin, that she had reprimanded
Francis Weston
Sir Francis Weston KB (1511 – 17 May 1536) was a gentleman of the Privy Chamber at the court of King Henry VIII of England. He became a friend of the king but was later accused of high treason and adultery with Anne Boleyn, the king's second ...
for flirting with Madge Shelton, who was betrothed to
Henry Norris. Anne wondered aloud to Weston why Norris had not married Shelton yet. Weston replied, "
orris Orris may refer to:
People
* Peter Orris
* Orris C. Herfindahl
* Orris Pratt
Places
* Adam Orris House
* Orris Baragwanath Pass
Other uses
*Orris root
*Orris oil
Orris oil (orris butter or Beurre d'Iris) is an essential oil derived from ...
came more to her
nne'schamber for her than for Madge." Both Norris, Madge Shelton's betrothed, and her supposed lover Weston, were executed on charge of having been Anne Boleyn's lovers.
In fiction
Margaret Shelton is the narrator in
Jean Bruller (
Vercors)' 1985 book ''Anne Boleyn'' (originally written in French), in which
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
is presented as a far-sighted English patriot, who strove to make England strong and independent by ending its dependence on the Catholic Church and building up its navy. As depicted in the book, Margaret Shelton was Anne Boleyn's closest and most loyal companion throughout her life, shared her vision for England, and lived to impart it to her daughter, the future Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
.
Madge Shelton appears in
The Tudors
''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...
, portrayed by Laura Jane Laughlin. She is put forward by Anne herself (though it upsets her), in an attempt to control who Henry beds. It fails.
See also
*
List of English royal mistresses
*
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Margaret
British maids of honour
16th-century English women
Madge
Household of Anne Boleyn